1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scooter type vehicle, and more particularly to a scooter type vehicle including a container disposed under a step floor on which the driver places his/her feet.
2. Description of the Background Art
In vehicles such as scooters, one type of vehicle includes a container accommodated in the space surrounded by the step floor and the undercover. As one of scooter type vehicles in this construction, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 313393/2000 under the title of xe2x80x9cVEHICLE BODY FRAME FOR SCOOTER TYPE VEHICLESxe2x80x9d (hereinafter, referred to as the xe2x80x9crelated artxe2x80x9d) describes one type of scooter type vehicle of the background art having this configuration. The entire contents of the foregoing patent document of the background art is herein incorporated by reference.
The aforementioned vehicle is, as shown in FIG. 5 of the same patent publication, characterized in that a vehicle body frame of a scooter type vehicle is constructed of a combination of the front frame 23 (the numerals are excerpted from the publication, hereinafter) and the rear frame 24. The front frame 23 is constructed of a combination of a pair of left and right floor supporting frame portions 271, 272 extending in the fore-and-aft direction.
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 22, and FIG. 23 of the above-identified patent publication, this scooter type vehicle is constructed in such a manner that the open-top dough box 133 is disposed between the left and right floor supporting frame portions 271, 272. The upper portion of the dough box 133 is covered by the step floor 41a secured on the floor supporting frame portions 271, 272 by bolts. The undercover 41c is covered on the floor supporting frame portions 271, 272 from below and secured with bolts, so that the floor supporting fame portions 271, 272, and the dough box 133 are covered by the undercover 41c. The dough box 133 is a storage member for storing a battery 143 and a radiator reserve tank 147.
In the aforementioned configuration of the background art, the step floor 41a and the undercover 41c are secured separately on the left and right floor supporting frame portions 271, 272 with bolts. Accordingly, fastening members are required for both the step floor 41a and the undercover 41c. For example, in order to secure a step floor 41a on the left and right floor supporting frame portions 271, 272, screw nuts 124, screw nut supporting members 125, and bolts 127 are required. On the other hand, in order to secure the undercover 41c on the left and right floor supporting frame portions 271, 272, undercover supporting members 126, 126, and sets of bolts and screw nuts 131, 132 are required.
Assembling the step floor 41a and the undercover 41c separately makes the mounting structure complex, and increases the number of parts to be assembled. The ease of assembly is thereby reduced and the cost of the product is increased. When cost reduction is a requirement for a scooter type vehicle, the aforementioned construction hinders cost reduction and complicates assembly.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings associated with the background art and achieves other advantages not realized by the background art.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology whereby the cost of scooter type vehicles may be reduced, particularly by improving the mounting structure of the step floor and the undercover.
These and other objects are accomplished by a scooter type vehicle having a vehicle body, the vehicle comprising an engine having at least one cylinder; a front and a rear wheel; a pair of left and right side frames extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body; a container having an upper side and a lower side and being disposed between the pair of left and right side frames; an undercover having edges, the undercover covering the lower side of the container and being inserted between the left and right side frames from a position above the container, wherein the edges of the undercover are engaged with the left and right side frames; a footrest plate covering the upper side of the container, the left and right side frames supporting the undercover; and an edge of the container engaging the footrest plate, the container being sandwiched between the undercover and the footrest plate.
These and other objects are further accomplished by a vehicle frame for a scooter type vehicle, the vehicle frame comprising a pair of left and right side frames extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle frame; a container having an upper side and a lower side and being disposed between the pair of left and right side frames; an undercover having edges, the undercover covering the lower side of the container and being inserted between the left and right side frames from a position above the container, wherein the edges of the undercover are engaged with the left and right side frames; a footrest plate covering the upper side of the container, the left and right side frames supporting the undercover; and an edge of the container engaging the footrest plate, the container being sandwiched between the undercover and the footrest plate.
The three parts of the undercover, the container, and the step floor may be assembled to the left and right side frames in pile from above, the mounting structure for assembling these three parts may be simplified, the number of the parts to be assembled may be reduced, and the ease of assembling the above-identified configuration may be enhanced. Therefore, the cost of the scooter type vehicle may be reduced.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.